Focus On: GRAVITY fitness

Hi friends! Happy humpday! Thank you again for all of your patience with the server crashes and blog downtime. The blog was excited to see so many new faces (hiiiiii!) and your Winter Shape Up excitement that she fainted. She should be back to normal now 😉 Back in the swing of things over here!

Yesterday, I had a doc’s appointment, and since the Pilot was working late, the girls and I went to Kid Venture’s to play after we picked up Livi from school.

Harney Cobb for dinner:

The easiest, most satisfying dinner combo. We still have it at least once a week!

Since I didn’t end up taking many photos yesterday, I thought it would be a great time for a Focus On post:

the Total Gym GTS (Gravity Training System). This is the equipment anchor for GRAVITY fitness, which is offered worldwide at fitness and rehabilitation training facilities. Apparently they’re very popular, but I had never seen one in Tucson. They seem to be much more common in San Diego.

When I first started teaching at the club, I was instantly intrigued by these contraptions. After taking some CORE40 classes, I had a little bit of a better understanding of how they work -the Megaformer is different but the platform and pulley systems are fairly similar- and it wasn’t until I got the chance to do some research and experimentation that I could really enjoy this piece of fitness equipment.

Here’s how it works:

-You adjust the resistance (1-62% of bodyweight) and the incline of the platform, depending on the exercises you’d like to perform

-You can perform an incredible variety of exercises on the platform, including strength, flexibility, cardio (plyometrics) and Pilates. My favorite exercise is abdominal twists: you kneel on the platform, hold onto the cable and twist away.

-No matter what exercise you’re doing, there’s a good chance that you’ll get bonus core stabilization workout. You have to engage your core to keep the platform in control!

Here is a great video demonstration of some of the exercises you can do on the GTS:

-This would be an awesome tool for home workouts, especially since you can vary the resistance and perform SO many different exercises (over 200). I feel like if you’re going to invest in a piece of equipment for the home, it should be something with as many uses as possible. I think something like this would be more valuable (to me!) than a rowing machine.. even though, ok, I still want a rowing machine.

-Many of the exercises are compound, so you’re working multiple muscle groups at the same time. Like I mentioned before, many of them encourage you to work your deep core stabilizing muscles for support

-The incline can minimize joint impact if needed. For more advanced variations, you can reduce the incline of the glide board

-Time efficient. Since you can work your entire body on this machine, you don’t need to scramble around the gym (or your house) looking for extra options and equipment

-It folds to store, so it doesn’t take up as much space

The cons:

-Cost! At almost 4k, the price tag is pretty hefty. If your gym has these, wins all around. 🙂

Have you tried this machine before? What’s your all-time favorite fitness tool? For me, I would say it’s a tie between the stability ball and the TRX.

I have a Pilates Reformer at home-its amazing!!! If you do get one, I’d recommend investing and getting a good one-not one of the ones they sell on tv for $250. I feel like this total gym machine is copying the reformer……but if it gets people to work out and brings Pilates moves to the mainstream, I think its great!

No, the carriage can’t be angled but you can buy props to create different angles (i.e. an arc for pregnancy). But there is still a ton you can do on it and most people are surprised how difficult the workout can be!

I had a Total Gym in the late 90s. It was like $170 from Costco, I think. They do look fun! Of course, I never used it and sold it at a garage sale after a few years. They’ve really fancied it up since then.

I have never seen these before, but the words multiple musce groups, core and vriable of exercises sound to make it the perfect machine!Unfortunately it will take us a while here in UK for new equipment!http://www.2activelab.com

Believe it or not the Tucson YMCA (at least the NW one ) has some of these. You can’t just walk up and use one though, you have to take a class. The classes are a good workout too. Props to our local Y 🙂

Hi, gorgeous! I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to The Fitnessista, a healthy lifestyle blog emphasizing quick workouts, quick recipes and adventures as a wife and mom. Though I am a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor and weight loss specialist, the information posted here is not intended to substitute the advice of a medical professional. Please check out the about page for more info. Thank you for reading! ❤️